Children of the Sun
by midsummersunshine
Summary: World is harsh and unforgiving to these children. But one man taught them love. AU. Marco POV. No pairing. Chapter 9: The Blue Phoenix
1. The Terror

**Children of the Sun**

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**Rating: M for rape and violence.**

**Characters: Marco the Phoenix, Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate, Thatch, Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy... also some bad guys.**

**Timeline setting: In this chapter, Marco is 7 years old.**

**Warning: Rape, children abuse violence, angst. Kinda a bit light in the middle. Characters death later. AU obviously.**

**Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters from Oda. I don't think he's mind (or I hope so :I )**

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**A/N: Muhuhu... Finally come with new fic ;w; ****Apparently I lost my writing muse because I developed a weird sleeping schedule during this fasting month. Sleep at 1 AM, wake up at 3 AM, then sleep again from 6 AM to 1 PM. And just when the fasting month ended, my college started B|**

**First chapter is kinda short as this is the prolog for the story. I already finished the second chapter, but it's no fun to update consecutively so I'll post the second chapter tomorrow.**

**I'll try to update this weekly though.**

**TL;DR, grab your popcorns, sit, and enjoy! B)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

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World is always harsh and unforgiving. I knew that very well. As a child that had nothing like me, I knew how cruel this world can be.

I lost my parents, long ago. I grew up without anyone care of me. I barely lived on my own, by stealing foods and eating trash. People said 'you are what you eat'. It suited me well, I think. I'm a trash afterall. Being thrown away. Unwanted.

I lost everything but one. But it didn't matter.

As long as I live...

I breathe...

... until today.

•

The pain tore me as if I was being ripped limb to limb. They shown me no mercy. They did it again and again. They forced me to beg, to cry, to scream my lungs out. They hurt me so much until I felt numb. My body. My heart. My mind.

At the time it ended, all what left was emptiness.

•

Rain washed the soil and my unmoving, humiliated body.

As I stared each droplets fell to the ground, I wished that my body was like rain, seeping into the ground beneath and disappeared. But how? I was contaminated, polluted. A dirty thing that had even no right to be under the embrace of this rain. Or this soil. Or the sun above.

A piece of memory slipped inside —my mom said, if I wished hard enough, my wish will become true. It never happened though. But in this desperation, what else that I could do?

As I cried, I silently chanted inside my head.

_I want to die..._

_I want to die..._

And I smiled in joy as darkness began to embrace me.

_Please, mom... Take me with you..._

•


	2. The Savior

**Children of the Sun**

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**Timeline setting: In this chapter, Marco is 7 years old and Papa Beard is like... let's say, 30 years old.**

**Warning: Nothing 'dangerous' on this chapter. OOCness and grammar error will also be here, likely.**

**Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters from Oda. I don't think he's mind (or I hope so :I )**

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**A/N: Whoops, fake update *or so* I decided to re-write chapter two because... well, I think it was kinda half-assed. Also I added a little about Marco's past and stuffs here and there. I hope you don't mind :3**

**Chapter 3 will be up around this week. Just hope my college assignment won't slow me down _,,_)b**

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**Thanks for Thatch-chan, Shiary, Tonochi, and LilxAzn for the Favorite story, Story alert, Favorite author, and Author alert! Thanks for your support, guys! * 3 *)/**

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**Edited for stupid mistake. Please forgive me _ _)m**

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**TL;DR, enjoy and don't forget to leave some love reviews! B)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Autumn, year XX34**

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I was dead... was I?

It was all dark and silent. But at least, dreamless and peaceful. As if I could feel my body floated on the water surface. Drifted away, and away.

Consciousness pulled me back harshly and I could feel pain pierced every tiny bits of me. I shot my eyes open, ready for another shoutings or beatings.

It didn't happen.

I rolled my eyes. The first thing I saw was the wooden ceiling above me. Question mark suddenly popped inside my head. This wasn't the place I usually slept on. I tilted my head and I realized that I was placed on the top of haymows, which was oddly comfortable. As I raised my head a little, I could see the room where I belong: a small hut —or used to be. The place was half crumbled and burned.

My eyes soon spotted a huge man nearby. This man is huge, I meant it. He was so huge I thought if we're standing side by side, my tiny frame will only reach his knees. I only could see his back, which was covered with black sleeveless shirt. Blond locks flowed from beneath the black bandana tied around his head. And his arm… I couldn't help but curious whether those muscled huge ass arms could destroy brick wall in a single punch or not.

My mind trailed back of what just happened —of what I wanted to forget. Badly.

Was this man one of _them_?

Panic began to creep back but all I could do was staring at his back in horror.

What if he decided to hurt me _again_?

_No, NO! I don't wanna go through that again!_

I whimpered —caused me to slap my own mouth shut because now I got the man's attention. He turned his head to meet my face. His face was surprisingly gentle. Somewhat it made me stunned.

"Gurararara, wake up already?" the man asked. I flinched. His voice was like thunder, somewhat fitting his huge frame.

When he walked near towards me, some inner danger alarm rang inside my head. I leaped backwards reflexively. Soft thud as my back thumped the wooden wall alerted me that I have nowhere to run. I looked around, trying to find an escape —before turned back to the man. I started to feel shaky.

_Don't hurt me!_

_Please don't hurt me!_

"Oh no, don't be scared! I just want to check your wound!" that man stopped on his place but I kept pushing my back as far as I could against the wall as if I want to meld myself with the wooden planks. _They_ always said that. I couldn't fall to that words!

My eyes were shut closed, but the scene _that night _repeated over and over again inside my head like a broken tape. Their hands on me, touched me and used me as they please. Their voices, combined with mine, filled my eardrums as clear as if it just happened. Their smells, that stink of sweats and sex, choked my lungs. I could feel fear rushed inside my veins, caused my body to jerk tremendously.

_No! NO! _

The man approached me and all the best I could do was curling up my body like a ball. I knew I was defenseless.

But this vision flooded my head, filled me with their laughs. Their hands.

They're coming!

_No, go away!_

They're going to get me!

_NO! DON'T COME CLOSER!_

They're—

_NO—_

•

It was already dark outside.

I didn't realize that I'd fallen asleep in curled position. I didn't know either how long I stayed in this position. No wonder I felt cramped.

The huge man earlier was nowhere to be seen, but I may be mistaken because there was no proper light inside this half-destroyed hut. Half of me was relieved —but half of me was worried. I was terrified by the thought of that man would go back to me.

I had to run from here. Away from that man!

There was a thin blanket wrapped around me. I tossed the fabric aside and slid down from the haymows I sat on. My feet touched the floor covered with wooden splinters and hays —flinching a little as I stepped on a splinter. I ignored the pain and kept walking out from rubbles with ease.

Soon my eyes spotted a flickering flame at the fireplace outside the hut. The man was there. I eyed at him. All I could see was his broad back, so I wasn't sure if the man was sleeping… and I didn't want to make sure either. I tip-toed a little to circle the hut, somehow managed to not making noises with all of the rubbles scattered here and there.

Second challenge: the forest.

I'd never set my feet into the forest before. Actually, this was my first time to see it _this_ close. The town I'd lived in before was quite huge and I was actually lived inside the slum, which was placed near with the harbor. The place was stink with fishes but wide open if you could see the sea. Unlike this.

Trees and more trees stood tall like monsters before my eyes, forming a canopy-like and covering the forest floor entirely from the moonlight from the sky. I'd heard from my Mom, when she was still lived and we and Dad barely lived from Dad's blacksmith shop, about the forest. Once. She said, forest was dangerous with animals and meat-eater beasts inside it. She also told me the old sayings such as 'Don't go to the forest when it's dark or you'll never come back' or 'Be careful with the tree spirits'. Okay —she might lied about the tree spirits part, but about the meat-eater beasts...?

I swore my ears caught some faint howls of beasts only Buddha knows what from the forest. Shivers started to run down my spine. I _did_ wished to die. But thinking of unwanted animals tore me into pieces was kinda… gruesome.

I gulped.

Whatever courage I had before to run away from the hut, I thought it was already completely crushed. So I tip-toed back inside the hut and climbed up the haymows as my bedding. Soon my tiny figure wrapped securely beneath the thin blanket I'd tossed away before. It didn't help much in this chilly autumn night, though it was enough to cover me wholly.

As I tried to close my eyes, I heard more howls from the forest. I curled inside the blanket, now wishing that those animals wouldn't reach me no matter what.

For what I didn't realize, a pair of gold eyes watched me as I fell asleep.

•

After a restless night (I closed my eyes, yes, but somehow I couldn't sleep at all), the morning came like it was nothing. I still curled on the blanket, gripping it tight as if my life was depend on it. The sun rays dipped through the holes on the roof and I could hear birds chirping outside the hut. I also heard rustling sounds of bamboos swaying by the wind blows. It calmed me, somewhat. The sound was just like the sound of the waves.

My heart was nearly jumped out of my chest as I heard a pair of boots stepping on splinters and rubbles. It walked near to me. I flinched and gripped the blanket even tighter till I thought I would rip it. My heart beat faster as my mind raced with any possibilities I thought I would get. Beating, cursing, shouting, my body shoved away to the floor, pinned to the wall, or dragged all the way outside.

_Go away!_ I muttered mentally. _Please, please go away!_

But again, none happened.

I heard some shifting sounds, causing me to lift my blanket slightly, only enough to see the huge man whose now sitting on the floor not so far from me. He put a good distance but I could still feel cornered between him and wall. I slightly trembled for the thought. My situation was quite hopeless from the beginning, after all.

There was eerie silence for a moment. He kept silent while I changed my position to sit on the haymows.

"_They_ can't find you here", the man spoke up first. I flinched upon the mention of _them_. "I found you on the alleyway three days ago—" Three days? "—and brought you here. You're safe now."

My eyes now on his humongous body, refused to meet with the man's eyes. He seemed to realize this and smiled widely.

"The name is Edward Newgate, boy. What about yours?" he asked now.

Edward Newgate, I noted my savior's name inside my head. So he really saved me _that_ day. But what's for? What's the good thing for saving a nameless, parentless child from the random street?

"Can you talk?" he asked again, snapped me back from my own train of thought. I nodded. Slightly.

The man's eyes softened. I wondered what kind of understanding he got inside his head. On the second thought, I didn't really want to know.

"Do you have parents? Or maybe sibling? Grandparents?"

Third question. I _had_ parents, but they died long ago. I didn't know how long is 'long', since I lost count on how many days I'd spent on that hellish alleyway. Still I could remember the day they died —how they died.

.

**~flashback~**

_It was near midnight and I curled on the mattress, ready to wander off to the dreamland. Dad and Mom lied next to me. Mom's slim fingers fondled my hair gently while Dad's arms circled around me. Dad's muscled arm was heavy, but it was warm and comforting. We didn't have enough blanket for everyone but I thought it was okay. When we were sleeping together like this and hugging each others, it was warm enough even in the coldest winter night._

_I was about to sleep when someone knocked our flat's door. I opened my eyes again and looked to my Dad curiously. Dad seemed to be pissed because he was tired from work, but he slid off from the mattress and walked to the door. Our flat wasn't big. Apparently, it only has one bedroom and one multifunction room (living room, dining room, and also kitchen were in the same room)._

_There was a sound of door creaking open…_

… _and a gunshot._

_It was really a gunshot, I meant it —loud and deafened my drum ears. I heard it so many times before —robbery and murder were daily routines that you could easily spot at the slum I lived in since the day I born. Everyone lived in pinch and there was even an unwritten law such as 'kill or to be killed', 'take or to be taken', and 'survival for the fittest'. Before I even could understand what on earth just happened, Mom shoved me from the mattress to the wardrobe. She gave me a sign to keep silent before she closed and locked the wardrobe._

_In the darkness that trapped me, I heard another gunshot._

_Then it was silent._

_Questions danced inside my head as I curled inside the wardrobe, holding my knees tight. What happened? Is Dad okay? Is Mom okay? Who are they? What are they doing here? I was curious, but at the same time, I was also terrified. I wanted to cry so bad but remembered that Mom warned me to keep silent._

_After I thought it was forever, I creaked the wardrobe open and tip-toed to the living room. I didn't want to think if the bad guy was still inside my home._

_The scene before my eyes was just… unbelievable._

_Mom's dead body laid on the doorway to the living room. Not so far with her was Dad's. Mom's white, flower patterned dress soaked with blood, and so Dad's grey shirt. Their eyes were open but I couldn't see the smile they always had._

"_Mom…?" I whimpered. "D-Dad…?"_

_They didn't answer._

_I didn't need to be told that they were already gone._

**~end of flashback~**

.

A pair of gold eyes locked gaze at me. In front of me, Edward Newgate stared at me, waiting for my answer patiently. I lowered my head. This time, I shook my head a no.

I felt his hand reached my head. His palm patted my head gently —too gently it hurt me inside. I did nothing but closed my eyes. I was kinda liked it. It reminded me of Mom.

"Must be hard to you", he said in a soft tone I'd never expected such a huge man like him could make. "But you're strong. Very."

_Am not_, I denied. If I was strong, I wouldn't hide inside that wardrobe. If I was strong, Mom and Dad wouldn't be died because I will protect them. If I was strong, townspeople wouldn't hit me and kick me like I was some kind of stray dog.

If I was strong, _they_ wouldn't do _that_ to me as their please.

"Can I know you name, boy?" he asked my name again. I looked up to him.

"M-Ma—" I croaked my answer with cracked voice. My throat sore —then I remembered that I didn't drink _anything_ since that day. I tried to speak my answer again.

"M-Marco…"

Finally.

"My name is Marco…"

•


	3. The Fishing

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: OOC and grammar errors are more likely.**

**Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters from Oda. I don't think he's mind (or I hope so :I )**

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**Thanks for Camarin07 for the Favorite Story! Also for Shiary and eowyn278 for the lovely reviews and Mikila94 for the correction. Thanks for your support, guys! ^ 3 ^ )/**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

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From the holes on the roof, I could see the sun was already at its highest peak.

Here, I, was alone in my shelter as I raised my tiny hands and saw bandages covered them.

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**~flashback~**

"_Listen to me, Marco", Newgate lowered his voice. We were so close I could see clearly his messed up light blonde locks. I tried to pay him attention while to ignore my inner dislike of our closeness. "I need to change your bandage but only if you cooperate. Would you let me to change your bandage?"_

_At that time, I didn't realize that I got wounds all over my body —which were now wrapped untidily with bandages at my hands, legs, and head. I twitched my fingers as if trying to check if it was okay, then I looked at him again and nodded._

_He smiled and patted me again. I tried to not flinch under his hand. Then he helped me to take my shirt off. But the buttons were too small for his gigantic fingers and he accidentally ripped some of the buttons. Well… Quite mostly, to be precise._

"_Oh well… We can take care of that later…" he sighed._

_One by one, he took off the bandage. He tried to be as gentle as he could, but I couldn't help but flinched when he tugged the bandage with his brute strength by accident._

_My skin colored in ugly tints of purple at some older bruises and pinkish red at some newer bruises. There were also some open wounds scathed at some part on my skin. The cause were various, by knives, shattered glasses, or another pointy objects. There was also rope mark on both of my wrists and ankles and burns at several places._

"_Shit… I wish I have more knowledge about medic", I heard Newgate growled faintly. I looked up and found pained expression plastered on his face._

_Deep inside me, something pierced me more painfully than knives and smacked me harder than any maces. Why a random person I'd never seen before worried about my wellbeing? Why he cared for my wellbeing? I just couldn't understand this…_

'_Am okay', how I wanted to tell him. 'I'm used with these wounds. Don't worry.'_

_I wished that my voice could reach him. But all I could do was opened my mouth soundlessly._

**~end of flashback~**

**.**

I dropped my hands to the floor and looked around.

Newgate left some waters in the bucket and a very small amount of meat, something that I thought the leftovers of his breakfast, while he went to the forest by himself. I was too hungry to protest, though the food was gone in a very few seconds. At the time I finished my food, I gulped down the water to ease both my hunger and thirst. I usually did this when there was not enough food to eat. The bucket now was almost empty.

But my stomach was still grumbling, protesting that the amount of food entered my body was just not enough.

_Sigh_.

I decided to lay down on the flat ground that not covered with rubbles. I was so tired for no reason —then I remembered that I didn't have a good rest last night. I tried to close my eyes. Just then, my wounds started to ache beneath the layers of bandages on my arms, my legs, and my head.

I sat on the floor and gave up on my attempt to take rest. I shook my head, then stood up and walked around inside the hut. I found some pots made of clay, sitting on the corner, undamaged. One of them was so huge I thought I could hide inside it without anyone notice me.

I climbed up to peek inside the pot. The pot was full of water, and with a good lighting from the hole on the roof, I could see my own reflection there. A weary kid, with messed up blond locks, and all bones and skin. My eyes were so hollow I thought they were dead. My cheeks were crooked due to malnutrition, bruised in ugly purplish and bluish. I could saw the part of my skin that wasn't covered with bandage was so pale and dirty. I opened my mouth and saw that I missed two or three of my milk teeth from several beatings I got.

I flopped back to the floor. The shirt I wore was Newgate's. He spared it for me because first he ripped almost all of my shirt's button, and second he said jokingly that I was so stink he could smell me from hundreds meters away. The shirt was so oversized on my tiny figure and I had to tie it knee high. It still more looked like dress than a shirt. Though I changed clothes, I swore I could smell fishes stenches from the shirt.

Decided to ignore it, I walked outside to wait for Newgate's return.

•

I sat in front of the hut waiting for my savior's return. Out of randomness, I piled the stones and the bricks then ruined the pile. I repeated the process again and again until I heard the bamboos shifting as if someone was passing through it. There, not so far from me, Newgate was there dragging a monstrous sized goat from the forest.

—wait, was that _really_ goat?

He looked at me and smiled gently before he crouched to light the firewood on fire at the fireplace. Then he took out his large knife and started to skin the dead animal, cut the oversized curled horns and cleaned its innards. When he finished, he literally threw the dead skinned animal to the fire. I cringed —pretty sure this man can't cook. However I didn't protest. I waited till the meat done. Nice scent of burned meat lingered in the air, caused my stomach to grumble.

The time the food served, I gorged myself over the meat like some starved animal. The food was so nice I couldn't stop myself to devour them all. I didn't even remember when the last time I ate something as good and as many as this. Probably, I didn't even care even if the foods were poisoned or drugged.

The man stared at me with rather amused looks —which embarrassingly was I just realized when I paused to take a deep breath. Our eyes locked in a split-second and I flinched. It still crept me out to look straight into someone's eyes. It was as if it would make him to dig deeper inside my deepest part of mind. I looked down and resumed my meals. Only, this time I slowed down a bit.

After I finished the meals, Newgate allowed me to follow him to the forest. Since I wanted to be a little bit useful to show my gratitude, I went along with him, carrying an empty bucket in my hand. It was really hard to follow his long-ranged steps with my own tiny feet, not to add that the forest path was way too different with the town streets. There were too many blockage on the way from knocked down trees, rocks, natural canals, etc. That's why I had to trot or leap over something sometimes to match our steps.

"We're going for fishing" he said by sudden. I peered around his figure and question mark popped on my head. He seemed to not bring any fishing rod. Didn't people need to use fishing rod for fishing?

"And we'll make the fishing rod." he stated. I blinked.

"Oh…"

_Was this man could read my mind just now?_

We continued to walk the path down to a small lake in the middle of forest. It wasn't that big, but it was so clear I could see the bottom of it. I knelt down on the grassy shore to see that there was plenty fishes swimming freely and their size were quite varied. When I dipped my palm inside the water, it was freezing cold. Again, I forgot that this was autumn.

"Can you swim?" Newgate asked. I nodded as the answer. As I said, the slum I lived in was actually near with the harbor and every child at slum was proud with their swimming ability —me was no different.

Summer time was the best for us. Sometimes, the passengers from the ships that set sail from the harbor would throw a penny or two to the sea. Some other children and me would dive to get the coins and then emerge to show the ship passengers our catch. It was actually like a show-off to show how deep we could dive and also to attract those ship passengers. Later, we would spend the money for popsicles or drops.

"Just wanna say to be careful. There are many crocs live in this lake." Newgate's next sentences popped my bubbles of thought. Quickly, I pulled my hands off from the water and glanced around to see if his words was true.

Much to my surprise, Newgate bursted out laugh at my very side. Understanding stabbed my mind.

_He fooled me!_

"W-what's funny, yoi? H-hey w-what's funny?" I yelled. Blood rushed to my head, heated up my face and made slight tint of blush decorated my cheeks. But my strutted words seemed only to make his laugh even harder.

"Your accent—" the man replied between his laughter. "—you put '_yoi_' in the end of your sentences, '_yoi_' this, '_yoi_' that."

He still laughed his ass off and all I could do was staring at him. I hugged my knees and pouted.

_Damn adults_… I cursed.

Cracked sound was heard when Newgate broke a twig from a berry shrubs not so far away. He tied a wire from his pocket with a difficult knot I didn't understand. Then he tied the bait to the other end of the wire, a little piece of leftover meat from lunch.

We walked to a spot under an oak tree and sat there, waiting till the fish took the bait.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, which was not so pleasant. I decided to glance around the place. Just like the hut, the lake was also surrounded by the countless of bamboo trees. I could see the various colors of maple trees scattered here and there at the forest, from red to bright orange to yellow. There was also mountains from really far far away, the sight was hazed with mistt. The scene was so serene, so different with the place I lived in before.

"Bored?" A sudden question caused me turn my face to see Newgate. I shook my head. Dad and me went for fishing at weekends at the harbor, so I was kinda used with this.

"You can go look around if you want", he said. Again, I shook my head. I was content to be here.

"Hmph. Fine then."

Minutes passed in silence but still no fish took the bait. I eyed Newgate. He seemed to have patient also, but I started to feel sleepy a bit. I heard he sneered at me.

"I was once a pirate who sailed to many places. Wanna hear my stories?" he said out of randomness. I looked at him, slightly surprised by the fact.

"But you didn't seem to be bad guy, yoi", I muttered. Not quite an answer, but still… Maybe he was joking? Maybe no, because he started to laugh again. Or maybe he was laughing at my accent.

"I take that as compliment", he replied. Okay, so he _was_ a pirate. "But yeah, we pirates are generally bad by World Government standard. Just depend on how you see it."

"Mom said pirates loot from townspeople and burn the town to ashes…" I picked a pebble from the ground then tried to skip the pebble to the lake. That thing sank right away when it touched the water surface. "She said, there was a pirate known as 'Golden Lion' destroyed half of our hometown… I didn't know about that, though."

Suddenly, there was a very visible scowl on Newgate's face. "Shiki…" I heard him muttered the name spitefully. Did he know that evil pirate captain?

"We clashed several times before", he turned his head to me and tried to smile. However I still could see hatred in his eyes. "A very annoying and arrogant bastard, he is. Was he the one who killed your parents?"

What was with the tone? I swore it was like I'm-gonna-rip-you-apart.

"No, yoi…" I replied in whispers. In fact, I didn't know either about my parents' murderer. "I mean… I thought I was an infant when Golden Lion attacked our hometown. But my parents died long after that. They died more recent… but not so recent…" I stopped. Never I realized before how limited was my vocabulary. Nor that I lost on how many time passed. "I didn't know how many years passed since their death…"

"How old are you, boy?" the huge man asked.

"I was 5 when my parents died…" I answered weakly. Oh how I could remember the day when they greeted me home and said 'Happy Birthday' few weeks before their deaths —my first and my last birthday I'd ever celebrate. We didn't have calendar at home so I didn't know my own birthday.

That day was nothing wonderful. No cake, no musician playing the birthday song, no nice foods —it was just like another normal day, but they kissed my cheeks and hugged me tighter than usual. Also Dad gave me a self-made toy ship from tin can. I remembered how I played with the toy everyday before a kid from slum snatched it away from me and destroyed it.

Newgate was nice enough to not interrupt my own daydream.

"And when were you born?" he asked again. I played with pebble with my fingers while trying to remember about what Mom or Dad told me about it.

"At the beginning of Great Harvest… I think", I was a little bit uncertain.

"That was seven to eight years ago", Newgate stated. I tried to skip the pebble again and watched it sank right away when it touched the water surface —again.

_So I'm seven or eight now, huh?_

"Stop that! You'll make the fishes run!"

I was nearly jumped on my seat. He wasn't yelling at me, but it sounded that he was clearly irritated as he scolded me. "S-Sorry, yoi!" I strutted.

Blood seemed to be drained from my face when he picked a flat stone at the size of his palm, which was just as big as my head. I couldn't help but expected beatings. But if he decided to throw that rock to me, it'll be _very_ hurt —no matter which place it landed, be it gut or head.

"If you want to skip the rock, do it like this!" And the stone skipped three—four—no, five times before it sank! Impossible! The stone was ten times bigger than my pebbles! I thought my jaw just hit the ground as I watched it in amazement.

I turned my head to him, completely forgot about my fear to him. "How did you do that?"

He grinned widely at me and then picked another stone. I followed his example and picked a pebble. "Throw while snapping your wrist like this", he showed me. It skipped four times.

Now my turn to try with my pebble. I snapped my wrist while throwing the pebble. It skipped three times! I saw it leaped smoothly at the water surface before it sank.

"It works!" I clapped my hands and cheered for my new achievement. Gosh, I was so happy I thought I would jump at him! Newgate smiled at me, and even if he wanted to mock me, I thought I wouldn't care!

"Now you're smiling."

Blinks.

For all of the things I thought he would say, that was the least predictable. So I dazed at him, dumbfounded. My guard was wide open and he patted my head again.

"You should smile a lot more, you know?" he said.

I hugged my knees again and tried to hide the blushes on my cheeks.

However he didn't mock me because now he got his attention distracted. A fish had tugged his bait —which was quite amazing remembering on how noisy we were from the skipping rocks before. He reeled the fishing line with ease. A rainbow trout at least at my lower arm size was seen caught on the bait.

I put the fish on the bucket —now filled with the water from the lake. I couldn't help but kept staring at the fish. It was now flapping its fins in the desperate attempt to run away.

•

We went back to the hut with a bucketful of fishes at the evening. There was still a slight glint coming from west where the sun set, but the sky above us ranged from purple to dark blue.

"There's still leftover meat from lunch so we'll gonna save the fishes for tomorrow alright?" my companion said out by sudden. I nodded.

The blond guy then took out the meat from one of the smaller pot I saw earlier at the hut. He reheated the meat by throwing the meat to the fireplace and I could feel myself sweatdropped.

At this point, my presumption before was correct —this pirate really had no cooking skill. But since he was a pirate and pirate couldn't cook, that seemed fine with me. Weird logic, I knew.

The dinner was quick and soundless. For an adult at that size, Newgate didn't eat much and gave almost a half of his share to me.

"You're so scrawny, boy. Now eat!" was all he said, even before I could speak up my protest. His eyes softened when I nibbled the meat unwillingly.

At the time I finished my meal under his watch (and comments such as "Eat more!" "There's still some foods!" "You won't grow if you don't eat much!"), I felt so full and drowsy. I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

Newgate noticed this. After he put the fire out, he carried me inside. Instinctively I circled my tiny arms around his oversized shoulders. He put me over the haymows and covered me with his blanket. In the last piece of consciousness I had, I could feel his fingers gently ran over my hairs, causing me to feel more sleepy.

While struggling to keep my consciousness stubbornly, my eyelids started to betray me. I tugged his shirt firmly and drew closer to him, slightly snuggling onto his broad muscled warm chest. His heartbeats were like a lullaby to me. With his constant stroke at my hair, I started to drift into a peaceful sleep.

That night was just another chilly autumn night. But never in years I felt so warm.

•

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><p><strong>AN: Horraaaay new chapter! So glad I could write this during my hectic week at college. This saves my sanity somehow... *buried under the piles of papers and resumes***

**On the top of that, SO GLAD THAT THIS FIC REACHED 250+ HITS MERELY IN A WEEK. I love you ya guys! *kisses the readers one by one***

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**As for the 'ship passengers throw coins to the sea and kids dive in to pick them' part, I was inspired by the scene I saw in Gilimanuk Harbor, Bali, Indonesia (my country woohoo!). If you throw coins to the sea, they'll jump like a star and dive to pick the coins, even if the sea is deep enough so ships (ferries and such) can pass!**

**I put Shiki here because apparently I adore him for no clear reason O_O He might make another appearance in this fic but then again I won't spoil the fun XD**

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**Slight edit for minor mistakes.**

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**TL;DR, Please enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy to write it! Also, please tell me if the pace is being too slow or too fast. I will gladly hear for your complaints! ;)**


	4. The Village

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: OOC and grammar errors are more likely.**

**Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters from Oda. I don't think he's mind (or I hope so :I )**

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**Thanks for BloodRed Wolf15, Society X, irenia, PrettyKitty126 for the support! Also for Shiary for being my best reviewer *hugshugs***

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

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"We have to fix the place before the winter comes. Don't you agree, boy?"

That morning, just when we had breakfast (today's menu: fishes from yesterday and some fruits from the forest), Newgate suddenly spoke up.

He sat in front of me, facing the hut that'd been our shelter for past few days. I turned my head to the half destroyed hut which was… well… destroyed. The roof was not in shape, so did two from its four walls. Rubbles were everywhere. But it was miraculously amazing because the door and the windows were still intact. Wild beasts wouldn't dare to attack us by obvious reason: Newgate was almost twice huger than the animals he usually dragged back for lunch. However that wouldn't stop some smaller and yet more annoying bugs to not bother our sleep.

"Maybe we should ask some carpenter from a village nearby since —eh—" Brief silent. Newgate scratched his head nervously. "—my carpentry skill is not so… fine."

This time, I couldn't agree more.

•

After the awkward breakfast, I sat outside the hut while eyeing at the man whose now prepared the fishes, animal skins, horns, bones, and anything he got from hunting that he would use for trade. He packed them all inside a wrapping cloth which he tied securely at his belt. Then he sheathed in a huge knife into its sheath at his belt too. Lastly, he carried his bisento with his right hand.

"The village might be too far so I'm not letting you go with me." That wasn't a suggestion. That was more like an order.

"Okay", I replied without thinking twice.

"You can go walk around or somewhat if you'd like!" Newgate said with a little brighter tone.

"Okay", again, I replied. Though I'm not sure I would want to walk in a rather scary forest all by myself.

"Wait—Wait, no, you can't! Geez, what if you got attacked by some kind of beasts when I'm not around? What if you get yourself into troubles? What if—" and he kept rambling more and more. In my opinion, his act was quite amusing. I kept staring at him with rather blank looks. He saw me and shook his head —letting out a defeated sigh.

"—Right, you're going with me then!" was his final words.

"Okay."

"And I'm going to piggyback you so you don't have to walk!"

"O—"

_What?_

I saw extra-wide grin curled above his ridiculously-long chin. You know, like a fatherly grin where you precisely knew that he would do something stupid for what he thought for your own good. An 'ew, this ain't gonna be good' moment.

"Gurarararara!"

•

The feeling was freakingly frightening. I kid you not, never in my life I felt so _acrophobic_.

I cupped my hands at each side of Newgate's head, legs circling around his thick muscular neck as I sat over his broad shoulders. His flowing golden locks tickled my stomach, but I paid no mind as I focused much to not fall from _this_ height.

"Put me down! I can walk, yoi!" I whined for the… I didn't know, I lost count already. This was just wrong. Why someone wants to give a seven-year-old kid a piggyback?

"Oh, really?" his voice was clearly not interested for my idea.

"Yeah! And my wounds ain't that hurt!"

By the end of my sentence, this goddamn oversized adult squeezed my injured arms. Hard.

"Waaaaahhh!" Okay, shit, that's hurt!

"You said that's not hurt", Newgate chuckled as he released his monster grip.

"That's because you're trying to _break_ my arm, yoi!" I strangled his neck by using my legs. But that was a lost cause. He seemed unaffected, instead laughed at my futile little revenge. I felt like there was an earthquake at the place I sat on as his shoulder shook up and down in his massive laugh.

•

We trailed the path on the forest, followed the river to its hilt. Around us, the layers of trees were so thick and seemed same. It made me wonder why he seemed so certain with the route.

"Did you know the village we'll visit now?" I dared myself to ask the question.

"No", was my companion's answer.

"Are you sure this is the right path?" I asked again. Being trapped inside the forest without knowing the way back to our shelter (I didn't say 'home' because the hut was barely a home) was frightening.

"Yeah", he answered. Then he pointed to the river. Nothing was there except some wooden planks carried with the water flow and… well, the water.

"Nature can't shape woods that neat. That's human's handiwork. That means, we're already near from the village", Newgate continued. "Some villages are built near with the river for water access for farm and other daily needs. Farmers' villages are usually near with the upstream while the fishermen's villages are usually near with the downstream."

_Oh, I see that..._

Then Newgate told me some trivial stuffs about forest that I should to know. For example…

"When you're being inside the forest without knowing the direction, you can follow the trees. Tree's branches grow to the west or east, following the sun."

Then he told me that the forest filled with beasts with very _abnormal_ size, following the also abnormal-sized trees. I looked around and understood what he meant with that —indeed, as far as we walked the path, the trees were very _very_ humongous to the point they became so absurd. The green canopy above was so high and wide I couldn't see the sky. The foliages below were so crowd so almost no place for Newgate's feet to step. When I thought I saw the glint of hungry eyes from the forest, in less than a second, a huge tiger —almost three times bigger than my companion's— jumped out to us, claws stretched.

The beast wailed when the dull point of Newgate's bisento smashed its skull.

"Gurararara, now we can add tiger's fur to our goods for trade. I heard they're so expensive", I heard him _casually_ laughed while carried the dead tiger over his shoulder, so close to me I could see its hollow eyes.

At the rests of our walk, I buried my face at Newgate's neck.

•

Around the noon, we saw the sign of the village from afar. The village was surrounded by wooden fence, sharpened on its tops. Thin smokes trailed from the chimneys we had yet to see. Even from this distance, I could tell that the village was quite lively.

There were some alphabet which I couldn't read engraved on the village's entrance, on the top of the gate. The guards were some young men, whose welcomed our arrival with warm smiles.

"Need a little help, Hunter?" one of the younger guard asked. He looked like a combination of human and octopus, in my opinion. But of course, I kept the opinion for myself.

"Yeah, I want to trade stuffs", Newgate replied. "and also I'm looking for carpenters."

"Then you might looking for the Tom Workers. They're the best on this place!" the guard said, then he jumped off from his post. "Come, I'll show ya the way! I'm Hatchan. Nice to see ya guys!"

At the time we entered the village, we shortly became the center of attention. No wonder. I blamed Newgate's abnormal body for this and also that huge dead tiger hung over his shoulder. As for me, well… being carried in piggyback when someone locked stares at me was real pain in the ass. I hid my face behind Newgate's head. The feeling was combination of embarrassment and fear, choking me hard till I had nothing left to brace myself to face the villagers. Cold sweats trickled down my temple as I _imagined _their gaze.

Newgate, however, seemed to be ignorant or just used with this kind of situation. His long steps followed Hatchan's enthusiastic steps while the young guard told us about stuffs. The said young guard seemed to be a cheerful and person, but I still clung onto Newgate's neck tightly.

Then all by sudden, he picked me up from his shoulder and put me steady on the ground. I eyed him with confused look. Just then I realized that we were already at the carpenter's workshop, or that what I thought.

"You can walk around. There's some good place you can see here", Newgate said before he turned to enter the workshop.

Frantically, I ran towards him and tugged his pants. He halted right before entering the workshop, eyeing me with an eyebrow rose. I whimpered and clung onto his legs —almost burying myself in the light brown fabric of his pants, and shook my head in silence. Understanding crossed his mind and he patted my head gently.

"Fine, but be careful. There are many dangerous things inside the workshop", he said. I looked up to him, seeing his usual wide grin crossed his face.

I nodded silently. Still locking my fingers onto his pants, I followed him inside the workshop.

"Ngaa… What a cute son you have", a fat woman with curly gold hair greeted us near the entrance. Her face despite young somewhat wrinkled and made her looked like a frog. She wore an ever present smile plastered on her face, a smile that somewhat creepy and tender in the same time…

"Ain't he?" I heard Newgate replied while he patted my back. I threw my gaze up to him. Did he just referred me as his own son?

"Ngagagaga… A daddy's boy, eh?" said the woman as she crouched down to the same eye level with me. I scooted away from her, wanting nothing but to disappear behind my companion's huge figure. Panic started to creep down my spine due to our close distance as I tried my best to not look into her eyes.

I thought Newgate felt my shaken arms around his knee because at that time, he decided to interfere.

"Anyway, let's down to the business. Are you the carpenter?" he asked straight to the point.

"Not her, _nyuu_! She's Mr. Tom's wife, Mrs. Kokoro", Hatchan cooed from behind us. "Mornin', Mrs. Kokoro! Is Mr. Tom here?"

"Oh, Hatchan!" Mrs. Kokoro stood up and looked at our guide cheerfully —though that was quite difficult to differ because she was smiling all the time. "Yes, he's here. 'Sec, I'm going to call him… TOOOOM!"

I winced as my eardrums rang rather painfully hearing her scream. But soon my attention was distracted when her husband rammed into the workshop with loud thump in every single steps of him.

I swore you, I thought my jaw just hit the floor.

Mr. Tom, by all respect, was so _round_ and huge —hell, he was at the same height with Newgate. His face was also round, decorated with fuzzy beard. Several aging spots were seen at the place that supposed to be his neck. Honestly, he looked like a pufferfish. His tiny eyes were locked onto the man whose at the same height with him. With these two oversized man stood face to face inside the room, the rests of us with _more_ normal size seemed like dwarves.

I gaped, mouth hung open.

"I need to re-build my house before winter and it's in the middle of the forest. Is this enough as the payment?" Newgate's voice was the one which brought me back to my feet. He mentioned his intention while pulling down the dead giant tiger body from his shoulder. "Killed it on the way up here. What do you think?"

Then Mr. Pufferfish —I mean, Mr. Tom— leaned closer to Newgate as if trying to find something. There was another awkward silence before he finally answered.

"There shouldn't be people freezing without the proper house in the winter. Leave that animal to the butcher for me while I gather my tools and stuffs. Then you'll show the way."

"Great", Newgate complied, seemed content. Then we, Newgate and me, went off to the butcher.

"Why did you agreed when she said that I'm your son?" I asked while we were on the way. Even when Newgate slowed his walking, I needed to run to catch with his steps.

"Oh, sorry. That's a spur of the moment", was only his answer. "But did you dislike it to be my son?"

_Did I?_

I had a dad, once, before he died. He was a great Dad despite that we didn't have things like gold or such. In fact, he died to protect Mom and me. I didn't think I want to replace him with another. But then what kind of _relationship_ Newgate and me had, actually?

"I- I don't know…" I mumbled.

"Easy there. You don't have to reply that question."

I nodded slightly.

•

The village was quite small and the direction Hatchan gave was simple: go south. So we went to the south and found the place quite easily. We left the tiger to the butcher then walked down the lane to the market place.

Newgate bought a donkey and a cart which he let me to sit in and rest. While I ate the lunch (sandwich with smoked fish and salad he bought from the grocery), he went here and there to buy stuffs such as spices, grains, oils, medicines, and tools. He also bought me some clothes and a pair of sandals (I used to barefoot all these times), which was amazingly fit to me. Lastly, he loaded the stuffs he bought and also the tools and materials that Mr. Tom had to bring to fix the house. The amount of stuffs he bought was quite surprising. It made me wonder how he could buy these stuffs.

Answer came inside my mind and I swallowed bitterly.

_Pirating_.

Almost all the time I forgot that my l forgot that my savior was once a pirate. Mostly because of his kindness towards me. However pirates are pirates. They plunder islands, stealing golds and money.

Was the food I ate just now bought by using money he got from plundering?

Did he got it by killing?

A rush of nausea choked me all by sudden. _But why?_ I was too used to steal foods in order to survive. Why should I suffer from this kind of feeling? Guilt, was it?

I shook my head to get rid of these negative feeling out of my mind. Pirates or not, there was only one rule in this world: steal before people steal from you, kill before people kill you. I got better after thinking that and resumed my meal.

•

When the sky turned to yellowish and red, Mr. Tom came with two of his sons —both had blue hair which I questioned because Mr. Tom's hair was black and Mrs. Kokoro's hair was gold. The older one's name was Iceburg and the younger one's was Cutty Flam, or called Franky. These siblings bickered all the times but in my opinion, it was always fun to watch.

Three boys, me included, sat amongst the crates and sacks on the cart pulled by a grey donkey, while Newgate walked in the front and Mr. Tom followed from behind. We left the village soon and followed the path on the riverside. I made sure to make a good distance from another boys.

"Why do you wear those?" Franky pointed to my bandaged arms.

"Can't you see that he's hurt?" Iceburg commented sarcastically to his brother.

"Not asking you, Smartass. But seriously, why?" Franky asked again, casually ignored his older brother's comment.

"Uh…" I scooted backwards when two pair of curious eyes bored into me. Now what should I answer to them? That there was bad guys from town that hurt me in every possible way humans could think of? Reflexively, I looked at Newgate, asking for help —which was luckily, he realized it.

"He was attacked by a beast from the forest about a week ago", Newgate answered for me. A fake answer, of course. "A group of wolves", he added.

"Ouch…" Iceburg cringed and stared pity at me. I tried to ignore his gaze.

"Woah! So you killed it? Like you did to the tiger? Did you?" Franky eyes sparkled as he leaned forward to get closer to Newgate. Unluckily for his position, he was almost falling from the cart when his older brother sent a punch straight to his head. Franky turned to Iceburg while grumbling a long string of curses inaudibly, all while holding his bump.

"Tahaha! That's why I never allow you boys to wander off the forest!" Mr. Tom roared. His hammer he carried as weapon swayed dangerously over his shoulder.

"But I'm not weak! I'll show them my SUPAH invention!" Franky jumped from his previous sitting position and throw a jab into the air. The cart swayed unstably.

Did he implying that I'm _weak_?

I bit my lips. Anger, frustration, and hopelessness swelled inside my chest —causing me to tremble. A boy just stepped my pride, but I couldn't do _anything_ because he was right. I was weak. Too weak.

Before even Iceburg could hit his little brother once again, without even realizing what I did, I stowed it _all_ in one jab, straight to the younger blue haired boy's face.

"By Mother of Sea! MARCO!" I heard Newgate yelled at me, but I ignored him. I ignored Iceburg. I ignored Mr. Tom. I ignored _everything. _All my mind at that moment was focused to my opponent: Franky —whose now wiping blood from the corner of his lips.

"I'm not weak, yoi!" I screamed my lungs out.

Oh how I wanted to tell him what kind of Hell I was lived in these years. How I wanted to tell him that his _tiny_ paradise he lived in was nothing compared to my Hell. Not even an bit! At the village, even from the first glance, I knew that everyone were nice and helping each other while you got the hard time. At the town —or to be precise, the slum— people were glad to see you suffer because they don't suffer the same!

"Is that you called 'not weak'? That's more like a wind blow, ha!" Franky sneered.

I was about to throw another punch, but Newgate was faster. I felt his huge muscular arm scooped me from the cart and held me tight near his chest. I squirmed, thrashed, trying to escape from the bind just like I did two days ago. But this time I felt no fear —I felt _irritated_.

"Ngh! Leggo!" I tried to push his arm away. Pity, his arms oversized mine and his arm wasn't even move slightly.

"Marco!" Newgate's tone was firmer this time, got me dumbstruck. Eventually, I calmed and slumped on his arm. My anger was all dissipated. All I felt was tiredness. Emptiness.

"M'not weak…" I kept repeating those words like a chant, more like telling to myself that I wasn't one weakling.

"I know."

That words of him was enough for me.

•

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><p><strong>AN: Hectic week is hectic. I intended to update this by weekly basis. But look what I've done whoops *slapped***

**Yeah, long chapter is long. Not as long as chapter 3, at least =_=**

**What will happen next chapter? Can Tom finish the house before winter? Or will Marco and Papabeard freeze to death? What kind of 'thing' that Marco picked from the river? Will Bakanky win the chicken wing from Bakaburg? Stay tune for the next issue!**

**Please tell me what do you have in mind :3**

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><p><strong>A little note from me:<strong>

**Today (27/9) is exactly one week after my little brother's accident. A guy driving a motorcycle broke the red light and hit my little brother. My brother is alive, but got bruises and wounds all over his face, arms, and legs. Tomorrow (28/9), he has to get a surgery to fix his jaw and more treatment to fix his broken teeth later. Please, I repeat, please don't drive and break the red light. You might be okay sometimes, but you might send someone's dear to the hospital or even morgue.**


	5. The New Bond

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: Tears and moar tears. OOC is intentional as for plot device.**

**Disclaimer: I borrowed these characters from Oda. I don't think he's mind (or I hope so :I )**

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**Thanks for everyone who reviewed, fav'd, subscribed, and read this story. You know who you are ^ ^**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

The house was done by the next week and Tom and his sons were going back to the village.

I was standing in front of the house, next to Newgate, and felt the excitement filled me inside as much as I knew he was too. The house was big enough for Newgate and all made of bamboo. It had bamboo roof, bamboo walls, and bamboo pillars —except the floor wasn't made of bamboo but wood planks. Tom said the wooden floors were warm in the winter and cold in the summer. The house had round window frames and made of wood painted in red. The door frames were also round. Wooden door made of dark ebony latched onto the frame.

Entering the house, there was a room with multifunctional uses with an old-styled fireplace in the middle of the room, but mostly it was the living room. Turned right, there was a door goes to the bedroom —in which a huge bunk for Newgate and bunk beds which I assumed was for me, filled the room without making it cramped. Turned right, there was a kitchen joined with the dining room. Newgate filled the kitchen with crates and sacks we bought the previous week and also some tablewares.

Going outside, there was a warehouse to store seeds and crops and also a well for bath and watering the plants. Newgate explained to me that we will farm for our own foods and trade. We would also raise poultries for eggs and meat —and perhaps goats and sheep too for its meat and skin.

I was certain that this house would be my home. The safest and warmest place where no nightmare nor beasts would haunt me.

•

I was wrong.

One early morning, I sat on the bed with tears welled in my eyes.

There was still dark outside but I could see glint of golden strings draw on the east sky through the window. On his bunk, Newgate was sleeping soundly. His huge chest swelled up and down at his breathings.

I tried to wipe my tears, but more beads of tear started to roll down to my cheeks. As much as I didn't want Newgate to hear or see me crying, I tried to restrain myself from sniffling. My attempt didn't last long. The negative feeling swollen inside me like a huge bump and I knew that it was about times for it to bursts out.

Newgate's eyes opened as he squinted his eyes and saw me crying.

"What happened?" he asked gently. I didn't know since when he scooted near to me, but instinctively, I clung my arms around his waist and buried my face there.

"What happened? You got nightmare?" he asked again.

I shook my head. It wasn't nightmare, no.

"I saw Mom and Dad…" I replied with muffled and cracked voice. "They were… _there_… and smiling. But I can't reach them…"

More tears rolled down my cheeks, soaked Newgate's shirt with huge ugly tears stain. Something inside me I kept locked for years now snapped open. Something I feared. Something I loathed myself for.

"I— I was thinking… if it was my fault they died… " The words tasted like poison: bitter and venomous. "Sometimes I made Mom and Dad angry. Maybe God thinks that I'm not a good child for them so He took them away from me…"

"They must've been happier with God than being with me…" I let out a weird, dry laugh that sounded not like me.

Then, I felt warm, huge arms wrapped around me, caused my body to tremble even more.

"I want… to…" More sniffles escaped my lips.

_I'm sorry._

"I want to say sorry to them…" More tears rolled down my cheeks.

_It was my fault you died._

"I want to say sorry… because they died to protect me…" My voice cracked.

_If only I wasn't born. If only I wasn't there._

"Mom… Dad…" Until it was a mere whispers.

_You don't need to protect me. You don't need to die._

I couldn't hold it any longer.

All the things I kept hold past these years inside suddenly bursted out. Over Mom, over Dad, over the life I lived on and had to live on; I cried my lungs out and wailing to my parents' name. What I would be? What would I do then? What would I become? My parents were all I had before, and now they were all gone. Without them, the world was harsh to survive —I had proven it right. Betrayal, abuse, slavery, war. I was lived only for a very short time, yet I thought it would be easier to choose death.

The hands around me started to cradle me. I gripped to Newgate's shirt as if my life depends on it. Eventually, my cry calmed into faint sniffles.

"Let's make a grave for them", finally, he spoke up.

"I don't have their ashes…" I wept. Their tombstones alongside with their ashes and the only photographs I had for them were all gone right after their death —that was when I got kicked out of my own flat I'd lived in since the day I born.

"You know, you don't really need their ashes. I think they'll appreciate it because you're gonna make a proper burial for them…" Newgate continued. I nodded silently and clung my arms onto his shoulders.

•

I sat on the ground and stared silently to the stones which were now my parents gravestones. Newgate picked them from the riverside and placed them near the bamboo trees not so far from our home. The graves were nameless as I didn't remember anything about them like names, ages, or birthdays.

But I thought this was enough.

"They did what every parents will do", the huge man whose sat next by me stated. I couldn't help but turned my head to him.

"I know that because… I was a parent too…" At this point, our eyes locked for a few split-seconds. His eyes told more than his words —and I understood.

"What happened to your…" my words stopped. Was I being rude for asking that to him?

"…son?" he snorted. "He died. Caught a fight with Marines and they… killed him, for being my son."

Silent.

"I was there and useless —can't even save my only son from death…" he continued while looking to my parents' graves. But I knew that the things he saw wasn't my parent's graves.

Really, I didn't know how to respond to this sudden information. Newgate, the huge man whose I knew was a strong man; could punch a tiger three times bigger than himself or carry ten wood logs from the forest by himself without breaking sweats; now was like a crumbling mountain. His figure seemed to shrink in every words he said.

"Now he's gone… And I couldn't help but think to— to—"

Pang of guilt struck me on the gut.

"To give _everything_ you have to bring him back…" I whispered. We were just the same, after all. "I know that…"

I rolled to his front and circled my arms around his waist like I always did pretty much recently. He seemed to be surprised with my sudden affection, but hugging me closer to him while we shared our pain. We were so close each others, we were so similar each others. The pain of losing, no matter how long you lost it, it still hurt.

Long silent while none of us were speaking. Only filled with the roosters crowed from far away, the sign that reminded us that the dawn was breaking.

I looked up to his face. I made up my mind.

"Can I be your son?" was what I asked.

He looked surprised. Grin slowly spread across his face, wrinkled by age and scarred by experiences.

"I'll be very honored…" he said.

I'd never intended to replace Dad for Newgate, no. Never. Dad was still be my dad, no matter what, and no one could replace the special seat he had inside my heart. But there was something inside me, something that not even myself could explain, about this. I was seeking for comfort, so did Newgate. I could give him comfort to be his son, so did him to be my father.

Both of us stood up. Newgate let me stay for a moment while he was heading back to home. I looked to my parents' graves, which flowers were scattered all around the graves.

My old life sat there.

_I'm going now… Mom, Dad…_

_Thank you for everything._

With the last glance, I ran and heading to my new life.

•

The next days, we were busy to prepare ourselves for winter. Everyday, before the lunch, I walked to the forest to start collecting fruits and fishes while Newgate went for hunt animals. I could tell that the winter was so close to us from the hardened soil beneath my feet. Whenever my sandaled feet stepped the grasses, it would break in cracking sounds. Eventually, my breath became steamy and my fingertips turned pale and white.

_I need gloves_, I thought myself. _That, and scarf too._

But Newgate knew a better way to keep me warm. One day, about a half hour before the freezing dawn, he started to teach me martial arts by using a staff. He was expert to this, proofing his experience as a good fighter back then when he was a pirate. My wounds were all healed completely but that wouldn't prevent him to beat me into pulp. Whenever I failed, he pushed me to do three to five laps around the lake shore.

We were still visiting the village weekly. Half of the foods we earned from hunting and collecting from the forest would be traded there. Newgate bought important stuffs like pots made of clay, more proper tablewares, stove, stuffs for reparation, rags and clothes, and many more. I was happy to get myself a pair of gloves and boots, but not when he gave me a proper staff for my training from Tom.

The staff was about twice my height and fit on my grip. It made of good oak branch and not so heavy —but I could feel my upper arms protested after the fourth or fifth swing. After one month of hellish training, my palms were calloused and my muscles were so sore so sometimes I couldn't sleep at night. All the bruises were gone by the morning, but I didn't pay much attention as soon I woke up and the training session started, I got new bruises again.

"Don't run it! Use your wrist to dodge then counter it!" he yelled while thrusting his blunt edge of his bisento to me, which was the impact pulled me back about few meters.

I coughed, gasped, trying to fix my breath.

"I… can't…"

A disappoint sigh. I hated it when he did that.

"Four laps then we'll go for breakfast."

I groaned while trying to stand up painfully and start my so-became routine morning run.

•

"Why staff? Staff can't kill, you see…" on one trip to the village, I suddenly stated what became my thought during this hellish training. "Animals on this forest were too big! I don't know about you, but I can't kill them with only a staff!"

"You'd think so?" Newgate commented uninterestedly.

"Uh-huh."

"Then what do you want? You can't fight it, you can't survive it; you should've know that very well", he stopped the cart and bent down so we could see face to face. I gulped and shifted on my seat uneasily. Eye contact was still bugging me though not causing me to panic like it used to be.

"I don't know…"

"Until you know what you want to learn, we'll continue our training session", with that, it was final. We continued our trip with awkward silence filled in.

•

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><p><strong>AN: Early chapter is early woot! Short chapter is short *but ish not care***

**I'm really in the high mood to write, mostly because my two bbys will have birthday within this week (*kisses Marco and Law*) and I will get Marco figures for my own birthday! *do hyper jumps like Mihawk's baboons***

**Next chapter we'll have new character's appearance *not so certain myself* /slapped**

**Please tell me what do you think about this fic. Constructive critics will be appreciated ^ ^**


	6. The Spark of Blue Flames

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: Time for a little bit violence… And short chapter is short.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are Oda's.**

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**Finally, new chapter! ;A;**

**This chapter took so long because I found difficulties to write this chapter. I wrote like… 5 pages, deleted it, wrote again for 3 pages, deleted it again, and again, and again. This one, I'm pretty satisfied with the result.**

**Anyway, I should remind you that this story is NOT the past story about how Whitebeard met Marco. This happened in the entirely different universe. About the power the characters have, it'll be explained next chapter.**

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**As usual, thank you soooooo much for those who took your time to read, review, subscribe, and/or fave this story. Lots and lotsa love from me :3**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

The winter stroke, hard, around two or three weeks later, sixth day past the full moon.

We barely could go outside because the snowfalls were too massive. Sometimes there were blizzards at least twice a week. The wind howled and caused the windows to clatter at night, sometimes in day too. We were lucky we prepared foods and firewoods good enough.

By a mere glance, it was obvious that my life here was way better than on the street. I used to starve a lot and got frostbite because I didn't have proper clothing nor fire. Once a while, government employers used to do some charity for the homeless people. They gave foods and blankets, but that wasn't enough. By the end of the winter, I didn't have anything to eat and all options left was to rob houses or kill myself. Now, I wouldn't have to worry about being starved or frozen to death —and I had good place to sleep in.

Good things always came, at last.

That night, I couldn't sleep because of the blizzard. The wind howled like some enraged ghosts outside. I thought it was about past midnight, but I wasn't sure myself.

My jacket wasn't helping at all to fight the chilly air, so was my blanket. I glanced at Dad who snored rather soundly. His massive chest was swelling up and down, pumping air into his lungs. I braced myself —what I need to be afraid of? He was my dad now. He wouldn't hurt me or got angry at me… right? I could ask him nicely if I have to.

Soon I slipped off from my bunk and tip-toed to Dad's one. I slipped in his bed, inside his blanket —and snuggled into his massive body. He was so warm. I pressed my palm on his arms, examining it. His arms, sprawled on the bed from side to side, were huge —even huger than my long dead Dad and had more muscle. I felt like if he rolled aside, his massive body would crush mine little one in no time. Somehow I didn't feel any fear.

From this distance, I could see several old cuts on his arm, chest, and neck. The marks he got from his battles on the sea perhaps. I couldn't help but started to wander off my mind. He was so huge and bulky, maybe he was once a strong pirate. Maybe he had a huge ship to match his own size and also crews on his own. The pirates sang jolly song at night, accompanied by beers and booze. When another pirate ship approached, it was so likely that Dad would be the one to charge forward first, bisento on his hand.

I did really want to ask him if he wanted to sail again someday. Maybe when I grow a little bit older and stronger, he would let me to sail with him. Then Dad would be the captain and I would be his first mate. We would gaining strong mates and got our own ship. Our jolly roger would rise high and proud. I kept imagining until I fell asleep. Instinctively, I clung closer onto him and snuggled slightly.

In my dream, I saw myself aboard a very huge ship. The blue sea was wide open and sparkled under the sun. In my sleep, I smiled.

•

The day was so clear when I woke up in the morning, still wearing the jacket, with limbs sprawled awkwardly. My lower half was unintentionally placed on Dad's chest and face. Even like this, Dad wasn't even awake yet. Which was good because I could move my legs from his face without getting caught. Then I slipped off from Dad's bed and wore my sandals, tied them tight around my ankles.

I peeked outside through the window. Snow piled up outside. Unlike another kids at my age, I was not so interested in snow. Snow was cold and would always be. Snow was deadly, freezing you to the bone. When you got buried, you felt like drowned, only you can't swim to get out. Nothing good in snow. What's the big deal?

Dad woke up with series of grunts and groan. I turned my head and see him sitting on his bed, scratching the back of his head and yawning. He looked at me and grumbled, "Morning…"

Before he could even get up, I tackled him and clung onto his waist. The momentum wasn't supposedly that hard because of our difference in size, but he flopped back to his bed. I used his position to crawl from his waist up to his chest.

"Morning!" I said cheerfully. I played his wavy hair with my fingers before he grabbed my hands away from his hair. He yawned again and sprawled his arms from side to side.

"What's today breakfast?" I asked.

"Something from our warehouse…" he grumbled. He didn't look good in condition, somehow. But he rolled his head to face me. "Then we'll go outside for walk."

"I'll help!" I grinned from ear to ear, then clung closer into his shoulders. Dad patted my head.

Soon both of us slid off from the bed and walked to the kitchen.

•

After we finished our breakfast (fish soup which tasted horrible, but still enough to warm our body), Dad stood up to clean the dishes. In the process, I noticed that Dad tended to hold his knees and grunted. It seemed that Dad didn't feel all good.

"Just lacking exercise", he said. I gulped as I foreshadowed for my another hellish training. But he didn't say anything about it, which was good.

"Wear your jacket and take your boots on", Dad said again. I nodded, then placed my empty bowl on the kitchen, and dashed to pick my stuffs.

Once we were outside, I barely could move because the snow was so thick, about my knees high.

See? Nothing's good with snow. It made me hard to walk, even only to raise my foot to walk. Soon I grew tired. But as we walked deeper and deeper into the forest, many things distracted me from my fatigue. As for example, the river that flowed to the lake was separated in two and flowed along our path. I didn't recognize this part of forest, though, but Dad seemed to know his way. Well… he's an adult after all. Adults always know the way. Maybe I would too once I grew into adult.

"Where we going?" I asked my curiosity.

"Just walking around", he replied.

The trees were so thick, making the forest part where we were so dark. It was also abnormally quiet, unlike it usually did —crowded with chirps and howls. But this silence even creepier in my thought. I looked around. I would be lying if I said I didn't afraid.

"Nothing will attack us now. Wild beasts will spend winter in their caves till the snow melts. It called hibernation", Dad said, seemed to know. With that answer, I was more relaxed and started to wander around but still keeping Dad within my sight.

We followed the small river which frozen on its surface. I crouched down on the riverside and knocked the ice surface to test its thickness. Much to my surprise, my knock caused a very long and loud cracks on the ice —then completely shattered it into pieces. Dad threw me a glare, signaling that I shouldn't do anything weird. But then, he laughed.

He sat next to me and I, as usual, found my perfect spot on Dad's lap. His body was so warm against mine. We kept silent for a moment, watching the used-to-be-frozen river flowing in front of our eyes. I swung my legs and played with my white breath.

"Fishes in winter likes hot grilled meat as bait, they said", Dad broke the silent all by sudden. I looked up to him and nodded.

"Uh-huh! Fishermen at the port said that too. But I don't know if it's true", I replied.

"Do you think we should try it sometimes?" Dad's eyes locked on mine. He grinned.

"Sure!" I spread my hands side to side. "Will we get a fish as big as this?"

"Gurarararara—" Dad's laugh was always amusing to me. When he laughed, it was as if the ground trembled in his laugh. "If you managed to catch a fish that size, I'm sure the fish will pull you into the water instead!"

"Stop treating me like a child!" I blared. I jumped off from his lap by sudden and faced him and stomped my foot to the ground.

Then, there was another crack. Loud, echoing in the silent forest.

Dad's eyes widened while I looked cluelessly to my own foot. "That's not m—"

"Shush", Dad effectively silenced me. His face turned serious and he grabbed his knife from his belt. By this point, I knew there was something wrong. Dad probably felt danger I didn't feel. Maybe it wasn't beasts, because Dad said they were… what was that? Oh yeah… _hibernating_.

Then I heard it, sound of someone's footsteps —tiny footsteps. Somebody was running towards us, but I couldn't see it yet. Maybe because the forest was too thick and dark. The sounds, the footsteps with the commotion, I could hear it very clear as it came closer to us. People yelled about something, I could sense anger in their voice. Dad was covering me, his tall figure shadowing mine. He was so tensed, causing me to be so.

Not very long time later, I could see a boy running towards us. He was probably around at my age, as scrawny as me and as messier as I used to be. He was running blindly like he was running from something. Or someone. I was right. Soon I could see a group of people running behind him, each holding dangerous weapon in their hands. Sword, saber, knife, pitchfork, and even gun.

The boy passed us as if he wasn't noticing our presence. But he got tripped on his own foot and fell, sliding on the snow for several meters before stopped. By reflex, I ran towards him.

From this distance, I could see he has chestnut colored hair, covered in dirt and just as dirty as the rags he wore. He was wounded, bruised, lips trembled in cold; his feet were as black as charcoal. I noticed an iron collar that seemed so heavy around his neck, connected to a chain that dangling noisily everytime he moved. But that wasn't the thing surprised me the most.

It was the mark, burned down in his skin just below his collarbone. Colored in ugly dark red where the skin burned permanently. A mark that couldn't be erased no matter what.

A slave.

A runaway slave, to be precise. Maybe he was running away from his master. Not a wise choice, I thought. As far as I know about slave, it was right thing to kill a runaway slave. Not only the slave, but also those who gave the slave protection.

I flinched when the boy's shagged hand gripped my muffler. He breathed hard, in combination of exhausted and cold. It seemed hard for him to speak. He managed it somehow.

"I don't… do it…" he whispered, weakly. "Help… I don't do… it… I… don't wanna die… Don't… wanna die…"

He kept whispering the last four words of phrase, while pulling me closer to him. Despite him being so weak, his hands were so strong. I started to get panic. _What__should__I__do?_

"Daddy!" I yelped. Dad turned his head towards me, but doing nothing except standing between me and those men.

"Hand it over!" one gruffly man demanded. I recognized his uniform as Marine uniform. The boy's hand clutched and trembled even harder. I quirked my eyebrows.

_It?_

I disliked Marine, just as I disliked any outlaws. That meant, I hate the Marines wholeheartedly, just like anyone from the Slum did. Now I thought the hatred just grew even bigger.

How could he refer someone, a _human_, as 'it'?

"Hand it over and you'll be rewarded! Protect it and you'll be punished!" the gruffly man urged. He readied his sword while glaring at me. I gulped. I was pretty sure he would kill me easily if I refused his order.

"I said it once again: Hand. It. Over!"

The man loomed over me, his sword raised high above his head. I didn't thinking twice when I closed my eyes and hugging the boy tightly inside my arms.

Wrong move.

I heard stabbing sounds and the gruffly man yelled in pain. Then, Dad's voice blaring loud in my ears. "THAT'S MY SON YOU USELESS TRASH!"

Whimpering, I braced myself to open my eyes slightly. If I wasn't too used with the violence I had seen repeatedly in that hellhole, I might be freaked out. Red blood soaking the white snow, dribbling down from Dad's sharp edge of his bisento and the gruffly man's shoulder. But that wasn't all.

When the gruffly man fell, the other men charged towards Dad. Surprisingly enough, Dad was faster than those men despite of his size. He easily dodged them while slicing and stabbing his enemies, swinging his bisento very fast and the blood splattered everywhere. He killed them all right before my eyes. In no time, those men were all lying in the snow, scattered. I noticed they were dead.

I shivered.

Dad turned his face to me. His face decorated with blood splatter, and so his coat. More blood on his bisento. This guy was the same guy that called me son. The same guy that killed those men without even thinking twice. I winced slightly.

"You should closed your eyes…" Dad, Newgate, whoever; he smiled warmly to me. All by sudden, my fear vanished just like that.

Dad did that to protect me.

He inched closer to me and gave me a pat on my head. I released my hug to the slave in my arms. I noticed that the boy fainted, or asleep I didn't really know. Dad took off his blood-soaked muffler and wrapped it around the boy. He checked his pulse and looked at me.

"I think we should bring him to the doctor", he said. I, unable to think anything better, nodded.

"But not someone from the village —we might put them in danger", Dad said again. I went blank, not really know what I supposed to say. So I guess, he was talking to himself.

Then it happened, just as fast as it ended. A sword stabbed through Dad's chest. Blood trickled down the cut, soaking the fur coat in red. I couldn't believe my eyes when the gruffly Marine earlier put all of his weight to his sword as he thrusted it deeper. How could he still alive from that gruesome attack was beyond my thought.

"I… know you…" the gruffly man hissed venomously. "What are a pirate like you doing in here…?"

Dad gritted his teeth, in order to endure his pain, not answering.

"Heh, not like you can answer…" the Marine twisted his blade, causing squelching noise. It crunched me inside, as if I could feel Dad's pain merely by the sound.

"Soon you'll be dead…" More squelch, he pushed the blade deeper. Deep in his throat, I could hear Dad grunting.

Something inside me, something strange and unearthly, sparked as I lurched forward. I pushed the gruffly man so hard with the power boosting inside me. Hell I didn't even care if the gruffly man was way lot bigger than me —all I cared was: he tried to torture _my_ Dad! So horrible! This man was so horrible! How dare he do that to Dad?

All of it was happened in very few seconds after I attacked the Marine. He pulled his sword from Dad's back and pushed it again —this time, into my body. I expected pain tearing up my body, but not. None was happened. None, except that blue flames flared into a blaze in the place where the sword stabbed. The place that was supposedly my stomach. He shoved me away from him, his eyes widened in pure shock and horror —as if he was seeing a _monster_.

I flopped to the snowy ground. Mixed feelings that I couldn't even describe choked me, drowning me. I stared blankly to my hand —which now had flared in blue flames too.

I was burned. Oddly, it didn't hurt. It didn't hot.

It felt like I was the fire itself.

What was this? What the Hell was happened to me?

•


	7. The Newcomer

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: A bit slashy-thingy. But I swear, it doesn't do that way. OOC is intentional, but I tried to be as minimum as it is.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are Oda's.**

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**Finally progressing in plot... Things is starting harder to write. So chapters are shorter and shorter now. Hope I'm doing well though. Also, messy language ish messy. I'm trying to fix my writing style, y'see... Please tell me your opinion? Feedback?**

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**And as usual, let me show you gratitude for taking your time to read this. Your review will be most welcomed and make me giddy all the time~**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

Night had come wantonly.

I was lying movelessly on my bed, feeling so tired of what happened today. Various events came and went and I didn't even understand a single thing why and what.

First, Daddy picked up the mysterious boy who was fainted on the way back home and treated him poorly. Dad's medical knowledge was quite limited but he said that the boy seemed fine. Dad had taken off the iron collars and patched up him. In my eyes, the boy looked like a mummy with bandages all over his body.

Secondly, Dad's persistence started to irk the hell out of me. How come I wasn't? Dad got a stab on his back right through his chest. Though he didn't seemed affected at all from the wound, I was beyond frustration to hold him sit and take rest. He was bleeding for Buddha's sake —and the only thing he let me to do was to patch up a fabric to cover his wound, which the white fabric quickly stained and soaked in red. He didn't even let me to help to make dinner —no matter how hard I tried to persuade him that I was okay.

Thirdly, I didn't want to remember it honestly, was about the blue flames. I was stabbed right on my gut and burned alive —yet I made it through. What the Hell happened anyways…? I tried to ask about it to Dad, but my mouth betrayed me.

My whole body betrayed me.

I could still remember the eyes of that soldier. He saw me with pure terror. He saw me as if I was a monster from Hell. The scary one.

I _am_ a monster.

What if Daddy changed his mind about me? What if he didn't want to see me again, scared the hell out of me? What if he would leave me in that alleyway, the very place he saved me from my hell?

What would happen to me next?

•

Nightmare haunted my sleep that night.

I knew it was just a dream —the dark alleyway I saw, _their_ images burned into my eyes. But it couldn't be helped that I jolted to fully awake in my own bed, as if there was electricity ran through my body. It was too real, the images that captured by my senses. _Their_ laughter, the smell —combination of sex juice, sweats, and rotting smell from the trash dump. In reality, I curled like a ball, hugged my knees so tight while holding my tears.

I was scared. I needed Daddy. I wanted Daddy to hug me, to soothe me, to comfort me, real bad. I wanted to slip into his bed and curl inside his arms, hugging his chest and listening to his drumming heartbeat.

But I was also scared.

What if Daddy scared of me too?

Sudden rush of fear almost choked me. And at that time, I couldn't hold back any tears invading my eyes. I tried to make no noise as good as I can, since Daddy was sleeping rather soundly on his bed. But when one strangled sniffle escaped my lips, I buried my face entirely to the pillow. I was afraid to wake him up. Afraid to make him angry. Or to give any reasons for him to throw me out of his life.

"You're crying", my ears caught a voice. I raised my head and saw chestnut hair sticking out of the bandaged head popped on my bed footing.

He was the boy Dad saved before.

"Are you having bad dream?" he asked.

"Well… Sorta…" I replied, sniffled a bit more then wiped my tears away. Glint of red dusted my cheek. It was embarrassing enough with someone caught seeing me crying. Not that I was hiding my cry. But now someone caught me crying over a bad dream too.

There was pause moment while both of us staring into each others' eyes. None of us broke the pause that only be filled with Daddy's loud snores and wind howls. But as I stared deep into his eyes, somehow I could tell that there was something with this boy. Something that calmed me. It was about the same feeling whenever Daddy was around.

"I'm sorry… I took your bed", the boy said as he gave me dry chuckle. I shook my head.

"I don't mind…" I replied. Dad was the one who arranging the bed. He said, I should give my place in lower bed to this boy because he was wounded. So I got the upper bed instead.

"Heh, thanks", he snickered. I stared blankly at him. What's so funny? Did I said something wrong?

"The wounds're not as worst as it looks. But these bandages make me looked like a mummy 'tho", the boy gestured his hand to the bandages that wrapped up his body, still grinning wide. "Bet your Daddy's not good at this, huh?"

"Yea, he was a pirate and I was a stray kid before he took me in…"

I made myself wondering why that kind of information slipped so easily while I was talking to a complete stranger like this boy. Was that because of that calming feeling? I didn't think this boy is kinda bad, so…

"Oh, I see… I was a slave before you guys took me in."

Something popped in my head hearing him speaking so casually. Really, I couldn't read what the Hell this boy's thinking. Was he taking pity on me? Seemed not, I thought. Then lighthearted chuckle escaped my lips.

"Hey, if you had bad dream just now, why we sleep together? There's lotsa space in your bed y'see", the boy, still with the silly grin, said to me before slid down from the ladder. For a moment, I dazed off watching him fixed the bed so there would be more place for us to sleep. Not really much to do, anyways, as he only shoved the pillow and the blanket too.

Of course, I found myself just can't refuse the offer.

So I hopped down from the upper bed carefully and slipped myself on the lower bed, just next to him who was completely grinning from ear to ear. It made me awkward, and fluttery at the same time. I was the only son of my parents —my deceased ones— and I didn't make much friends in my childhood. So yeah, this was the first time I had someone around my age to sleep with.

In the dark, I could see his slave mark peeked from his oversized shirt —it was mine, actually. His body was quite smaller than me and Dad often bought me clothes bigger than my size. He said, I would have growth spurt soon and my clothes would be so small it wouldn't fit me.

"So…" I hesitated. It would be a rude question, but I couldn't help myself but felt curious. "So, how's about to be a slave?"

As I thought, my question shocked him. He lowered his head to the point it almost covered with shadow. I wondered if he was angry. But apparently, he wasn't. Soon smile returned to his face. Not only smile, but it was more of his wide face-splitting grin.

"Man, I forgot about it already", he casually replied. "And you? How's about to be a stray kid?"

I grinned back to him.

"Man, I forgot about it already", I replied.

As silly as it was, we giggled, trying to be as silent as we could —until both of us were fell asleep.

•


	8. The Gift

**Children of the Sun**

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**Warning: Gruesome image… though I'm trying to keep it as minimum as I could.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are Oda's.**

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**Cookies for those who had guessed right about this new boy~ :3**

**Anyway did someone read the new One Piece chapter? Awesome as always, as expected from Oda. Though I had through that indescribable emotions and panic-attacks, yep.**

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**Thank you for all of you who had reviewed: azab, HeartOfNewcastle, Mikila94, Shiary, and Hilian. Also you silent readers, favers, subscribers!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

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The next day, I was tense. I couldn't be relaxed at all whenever Daddy's around. I felt like as if I was anticipating something bad come from Dad each time he opened his mouth to talk. And so did the next day. And the next day. And so on, till I found myself was hiding frequently from Dad each time I didn't do home chores or eat or sleep. I found comfort inside the forest, where there were lots of hiding places for me to use.

"He's gone", I heard someone was whispering to me. Not a stranger's voice, though.

With few rustles, I popped my head from my hideout, a snowy bushes under an oak tree.

The ex-slave boy that Dad had saved about one half-moon ago, Dad decided to name him Thatch —because apparently, he was nameless. It was a random name Dad picked, actually. The boy didn't mind.

Thatch's condition was progressing rapidly, as I noticed. Even with Dad's lacking knowledge in medic thing, the boy could survive just fine. Most of his wounds and bruises were healed. His skin wasn't as pale as zombie anymore, though still had the lighter tone than my own skin. Under the proper light, I could see that actually he had ginger hair color —and not brunette.

So far he'd helped me to sneak from Dad's eyes.

"Thanks", I muttered half-heartedly, flopping on my butt to the snowy ground below.

I raised my head to see the sky, where the sun just crept out of its hiding. Too early in the morning, but apparently it didn't stop me and Dad to 'play' hide-and-seek. I heard birds chirped from its nest and squirrels squeaked while running on the top of a tree branch. Enjoying the sounds of the forest, I closed my eyes.

From the rustling sound I heard, I knew that Thatch was sitting next to me. Slightly opening my eyes, I glanced to see that he was staring at me. I ignored him. Both of us kept silent as the morning.

Until he broke the ice.

"Is something happened between you and your Dad?" Thatch asked. I flinched.

"Nothin'…", I shifted my eyes.

"I'm not blind", he leaned closer to me. His wide, brown eyes stared straight to mine.

"I don't know what are you talking about", I shuffled, trying to move as far as I could, away from him.

My heart beat faster. As if it was bad enough for Dad to know about my abnormality, now this boy too? Did this boy knew? Did he saw me in _that_ state?

I kept my mouth shut stubbornly until he gave up. Thatch leaned to a tree, huffed. I too relieved, but still felt a bit bad for lying. I glanced at him again.

Thatch raised his right hand and moved his fingers, as if it seemed that he was trying to grasp the wind. My eyebrows raised so high as soon as I realized that the wind was _gathered_ over his palm. I could see it because there were two leaves whirling over his palm, as if there was a small tornado there.

"But—" I was almost stating my confusion, before things right in front my eyes became even weirder.

The wind, the air, suddenly painted in black —making it the impossible and unnatural black wind. It gathered into a ball sized just fit on Thatch's palm, sucking the leaves, the pebbles, and anything small and light around him.

Thatch made the black wind to disappear. On his palm, there were leaves and pebbles, crumbled and destroyed.

I looked to his face. Horror filled myself, entirely.

"Wha—" I couldn't even to find a word. I was completely stunned, speechless.

Thatch grinned cheekily.

"Yeah. A monster, just like you too", he chortled.

Once again, he called that black wind over his palm and played with it a bit more —meanwhile, I was still dumbstruck with the fact. Did Dad just happened to pick two _monsters _under his care?

"What is this—" again, I couldn't finish my sentence. What I supposed to refer this _abnormal_ thing? Psychic power?

"It's a gift", Thatch replied leisurely. He sure knew a lot about this… _gift_, he said?

"At the place I was held as slave, there was an old man. He said, it's a gift because not everyone can have this kind of power", the ginger-haired boy continued, still making the black wind whirled over his palm.

"Why us…?" I asked in lower tone. Why me? Why should me? Why it even called as gift?

"I don't know…" Thatch shrugged his shoulders. "To protect ourself… perhaps? It's not like we born with this _gift_."

"Then why…?"

But apparently, not even Thatch had every answer. He shrugged again before making the black wind dissipated once more time, leaving me and my head filled with unanswered questions.

•

It was about the next full-moon. Based on the calendar, I thought it was around the time of new year or something. Nothing special. It passed just like another normal day —Dad didn't even throw any New Year celebration or some sort like that, though I doubt that Dad even remember.

Strong gusts almost swept my body away mercilessly, if it wasn't because of Dad who held me tight. Under this circumstance, near by him, I felt safe.

It felt like a one-week trip climbing up a mountain, though actually Dad and me were only trying to get meat and veggies from the warehouse. Despite of me trying to get in distance with Dad, no matter what, I couldn't let Dad to go all by himself because I knew of his knees-problem —that later I found out was because of the extreme cold of this winter snow. The same went for Dad, he couldn't let me to go all by myself too. The wind was strong, and I couldn't even see three meters ahead. The lantern that Dad brought with him became useless. Wind had blown off the flame just about a meter we left the house. Behind the window, safe inside our home, I could see Thatch was watching us struggling to fight against the wind. Dad didn't let him out because of obvious reasons —he was still injured and his body was smaller than me. The rate he got swept by the wind was even bigger than me.

The wind howls were very intense, filled my eardrums, roaring like some sort of wild animals. Though under the layers of clothes I wore, I still felt like freezing, shivering. I couldn't even feel my own fingers so I was purely relying to Dad. I felt that he knew where we should going to.

Then I felt something hard hit my head. Really, hard. Hurt. Pain stung my forehead, but then I only felt numbness. Whatever it was, perhaps this freezing air made me couldn't feel the pain anymore. I didn't scream. I didn't tell Dad to stop. Somehow I managed to keep walking.

When we finally reached the warehouse, Dad finally turned his head to me. With minimum light, almost nonexistent, I could see his face paled and he crouched to my eyes level. His finger gently touched my forehead —or, something on my forehead. Or maybe my forehead. I didn't know.

"Where did you get this?" Dad asked, very gently, while kept rubbing my forehead. I shrugged.

Then I saw blood smeared Dad's finger. Blood, not flowing, but still there.

My blood.

There, I lost it. My eyes widened by the sight of red substance. It still didn't hurt, my forehead. But why there was blood? If there was blood, there should be open wound too —which where I knew that open wound in the freezing air like this could be very dangerous. I knew from experience that frostbite could be deadly.

_I will die._

_Will I die?_

I shivered, not because of the cold, but of fear. I'd been experiencing few times of near-death experience, hadn't I? Why could I still feel it, the fear?

"Marco, stay calm. I'll wrap your wound with something, then we're heading back home", Dad voice remained calm, but still I could hear it also shaky. He untied his scarf hardly.

How bad was my wound? How big it was?

"Marco, listen to me. Marc—"

I couldn't hear him. I felt tingling, warm sensation, before something inside me snapped. My surroundings —the snow, the warehouse, Dad— everything were glistened in blueish light. The light, came off from me. The fire, the blueish flame, blazed, wrapped me entirely.

I was the light source, my body was ignited like a single torch.

I saw Dad jumped backwards, afraid of getting burned with my fire. I could see it on his face. He was scared. Dad was scared, of me. I knew it.

Thatch said it was a gift to protect myself.

What gift? I'm a monster.

I didn't think twice when I turned, running blindly to the dark forest. I didn't stop when Dad yelled me to stop. I kept running without noticing the direction until I hurtled into a thorn bushes —my legs got tangled and cut at the same time and I fell down on my face.

My baggy pants were ripped open in few places, revealing my wounded legs. Blood froze in seconds. But before it became frostbites, blue flames engulfed the wounds, healing it completely.

"No… Get off— Get off—" I swatted my hand to smother the fire, but it didn't work. The blizzard couldn't even put the flames off but my panic seemed to eaten up my mind. The only I got was my woundless legs.

"What to do… What happened to me…? WHY ME?"

I didn't feel cold. I didn't feel pain. I screamed with the top of my lungs before I moved my legs again. I kept running aimlessly, didn't even notice on my stepping.

Ground crumbled beneath my feet. Before I could register on what happened, my mind went blank.

All that the next time I knew, I was once again engulfed in the same blue flames. In replace of my arms, there were a pair of wings, also covered in blue flames, flapping frantically in the attempt to keep steady. My scream turned into shrill —and I hadn't feel this freaked the hell out of my own. All happened like in slow motion.

First the flame that could heal anything. Now a pair of wings? What had I become? What kind of monster I am?

"MARCO!" the voice shook every bits of my body and I lost my balance that I barely got.

There, I realized that I was falling down from the top of what used to be a small cliff, in the part of the forest I'd never seen before. It wasn't that high, but had the rocky slope that could crush me into bits. Not to add the crumbling rocks from the top of the cliff too —though I doubted that would really happen, after all of the things happened to me tonight.

Arms held my burning body, protecting me from getting harmed. Dad was protecting me. Both of us rolled down the slope before stopped when Dad's back hit a huge tree. Ground shaken momentarily as his massive body slammed the tree trunk.

"YOU FREAKED ME TO DEATH, YOU IDIOT!" Dad's fist slammed my head, hard. After all that happened, I felt pain again.

"DON'T EVER— **EVER**— DO. THAT. AGAIN!"

I bit my lips, scrunched my face. Lips quivered and tears stung my eyes.

It really hurt.

"B- but— I'm a monster…Thatch said it's a gift. But look at me! I— I have wings! And flames!" words spluttered from my mouth as beads of tears rolled down my cheeks. No, it wasn't the place Dad hit me that was hurt. But somewhere. Somewhere else.

"You're scared of me too, Daddy…"

Sobbing, I covered my face with wings that replaced my hands. I couldn't even feel it. The feathers were almost intangible, seemed as if they were purely made of fire. It was actually soft, brushing, licking against my face.

Gently, Dad removed the wings off from my face.

"What monster? All I see here is this beautiful creature, gurarararara!" he laughed. The laugh I missed the most, making something inside me fluttered, sparked all in happiness. But still, I couldn't hide my surprise. What beautiful creature?

"Ah, you haven't see yourself in the mirror, huh?" Dad kneaded my forehead. What should I see?

"I see, hmm, two wings", he stretched both of my wings with his two hands. "A beak", he pointed at a place, somewhere my mouth should be. "A pair of taloned feet too."

_I'm a bird?_

My face should had shown utter shock. It made Dad laughed even louder. I was expected some sort of weird beast —but a bird? Anyway, what kind of bird that had blue flames in replace of feathers?

"I'd never think to see such mythical creature in my life…" Dad huffed. He was… _amazed_?

"Have you ever heard about _phoenix_, eh, Marco?"

•


	9. The Blue Phoenix

**Somehow I feel that this fic has its emotional twist from happy to angsty… But yeah, that's how I work. Up and down, down, up again. That's how I'm very happy when Thatch-Chan reviewed that she can feel all of the emotions. I feel like… MISSION SUCCESS hahahah XDDD**

**I hope you like it. Though it's short (the shortest chapter of all lol okay /shot), it's still important chapter :3**

**.**

**Thank you for your nice reviews, dear nice reviewers: azab, Shiary, Thatch-Chan, Mikila94, and HeartOfNewcastle. Also the silent readers because I can see you there yohohoho~ 8D**

**.**

**Chapter 9**

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"P-Phoenix…?"

I stuttered, blinked, gaped to the sudden information. Of course I had heard about the mythical creatures —Mom used to tell me bedtime stories about the four holy beasts that guarding the city; about the dragon who guarding the east, the turtle who guarding the west, the tiger who guarding the north, and the phoenix who guarding the south. The story passed from generation to generation, Mom said.

But me? A phoenix?

"_It's a gift."_

"_To protect ourselves, perhaps?"_

I blinked. Thatch's words suddenly came into my mind. A gift to protect myself…? Hey—

"Wait…"

Then realization hit me hard like a headbutt over me. Dad's hellish training —the numbers of bruises all over my body and the numbness in every inch of my muscles that made me suffer all day long, were gone at the moment I woke up in the next morning. The wounds I suffered from… _that_ day… were healed rather quickly.

Could be, this gift —the blue flames of phoenix— could make me heal myself? Like Mom said…

"_Phoenix, a creature that rebirths from its own ashes."_

"_It was eternity."_

_Am I going to be immortal?_

_Can't I die…?_

It seemed that the realization left me even bigger questions, yet to be answered. Why me? What makes me to get this special _gift_? And since when…? Because I didn't remember to create blue flames each time I got injured at the time I was still on that hellhole.

_To protect myself…_

From what?

The death?

_Did this 'gift', I acquired it to protect me from death?_

The phoenix flame I had, probably it could make me reborn from the near-death state I experienced. Had sparked my inner flame of life —made me survived from… that day.

But I wished for death

"_Please don't hurt me!"_

I wanted to die.

"_Please stop!"_

"_PLEASE!"_

Dad's gentle touch sent me back from my own nightmare. I blinked few times. I was dizzy. Very dizzy. It was almost like I forgot how to breath.

_Even the months had passed, I could still feel their filthy hand on my skin, could smell their filthy stench on my nostril, could hear their filthy voice on my drum ears._

"Calm down", Dad rubbed my right cheek, comforting me. I looked into his eyes and found strength to form a weak smile on my lips. Without this power, probably I wouldn't be alive. I wouldn't meet Dad.

I wouldn't get my second life.

The better second life.

_A gift, huh?_

With a huff and rumbles, Dad stood up and held me into his massive arms. My body was nearly disappeared in the crook of muscles on Dad's massive arms —the strong hands that I believed will protect me from anything. The place where'd I feel safe. The storm hadn't calmed yet, but Dad's inner warmth was enough for me.

"Let's go home."

•

Our trip back home was short and silent. The wind howled real loud, so it was almost impossible to hear each other's words. Dad seemed to know the way back home that I didn't know, because apparently I ran into the part of the forest I'd yet to explore. I was blind for the direction —firstly, because it was dark in night; secondly, because of the storm. But I knew from the trees that looked different from those who I'd usually see.

Not very long enough, I could see our house —like a speck of light surrounded by the darkness. I got off from Dad's arms and walked by myself, trying to balance with Dad's wide steps by hopping on the snow a little. Dad held me on my shoulder so the wind wouldn't throw me off of my feet. We reached the house in no time.

Thatch opened the door just before Dad knocked it. I could see his face painted in worry as both of me and Dad entered the front door. He was locking his gaze to us just when Dad swatted snow off of him like a giant bear.

"I thought you want to pick veggies! Where were you going?" Thatch screeched and threw blanket to each of us. I looked to Dad and Dad looked back to me. Both of us smiled. Things I didn't know suddenly became clear for Thatch.

"Anyway, nevermind. I don't wanna know", the younger boy quipped, grinning from ear to ear.

Dad's signature laugh rumbled across the room, matching with the wind howls outside. It seemed like years for me to hear Dad's laugh, the very laugh I'd believe could shake the mountains and trees. Only by hearing it, I laughed too. Thatch looked confused at the first, dazing off and blinked his eyes for few times. But he followed to laugh nonetheless.

•

Later that night, Thatch and me claimed Dad's bed. The wind outside hadn't calmed even a little bit, and even the layers of thick clothes and blanket I'd usually wore couldn't warm me under this weather. Dad didn't do anything to disagree. So three of us packed on Dad's gigantic bed and slept there.

While Thatch claimed Dad's arm as the substitute of his pillow, I rested my head on Dad's chest. I kinda liked it to listen to Dad's beating heart. Just like anything of Dad that massive and all-loud, his heartbeat was too. It was so full of life —and on the other hand, the owner of this very heartbeat made my heart to keep beating. Up till today.

"Thatch…" I whispered. I knew he would hear me.

"Yeah…?" I heard Thatch whispered back to me.

"Thank you, Thatch… It's a gift, after all…"

He didn't reply. He kept silent. I bid him goodnight and trying to be asleep.

That heart was still beating, loud on my ears.

That night, it was freezing cold. But I was happy, the happiness wrapped me in warmth. For what happened today, I fully accepted that I wasn't alone. I would never be alone, because Dad would never leave me even if I was a monster.

That night, I resolved that I wasn't a monster.

_With this gift, the blue flame of phoenix I have, I will protect Dad._

_Like the mythical creature Phoenix that guarded the city, just as Mom told me._

•


End file.
